Prediction of chemical composition and peroxide value in unground pet foods by near‐infrared spectroscopy

The massive development of the pet food industry in recent years has lead to the formulation of hundreds of canine and feline complete extruded foods with the objective of meeting both the needs of the animals and numerous demands from pet owners. In the meantime, highly variable raw material compositions and the industry's new production techniques oblige manufacturers to monitor all phases of the extrusion process closely in order to ensure the targeted composition and quality of the products. This study aimed at evaluating the potential of infrared technology (visible and near‐infrared spectrophotometer; 570–1842 nm) in predicting the chemical composition and peroxide value (PV) of unground commercial extruded dog foods. Six hundred and forty‐nine commercial extruded dog foods were collected. For each product, an unground aliquot was analysed by infrared instrument while a second aliquot was sent to a laboratory for proximate analysis and PV quantification. The wide range of extruded dog food typologies included in the study was responsible for the wide variability observed within each nutritional trait, especially crude fibre and ash. The mean value of the 208 pet foods sampled for PV quantification was 17.49 mEq O₂/kg fat (min 2.2 and max 94.10 mEq O₂/kg fat). The coefficients of determination in cross‐validation of NIRS prediction models were 0.77, 0.97, 0.83, 0.86, 0.78 and 0.94 for moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, ash and nitrogen‐free extract (NFE) respectively. PV prediction was less precise, as demonstrated by the coefficient of determination in cross‐validation (0.66). The results demonstrated the potential of NIRS in predicting chemical composition in unground samples, with lower accuracy for moisture and ash, while PV prediction models suggest use for screening purposes only.     

Heterogeneity of Pseudomonas savastanoi populations infecting Myrtus communis in Sardinia (Italy)

Genetic, phenotypic and host range diversity among Pseudomonas savastanoi isolates from Myrtus communis were investigated. Thirty‐one isolates from six Sardinian commercial myrtle orchards and three isolates from plants growing spontaneously on the island of Rhodes (Greece) were compared with reference strains of P. savastanoi from olive, oleander, ash and myrtle. Multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) indicated the presence of a monomorphic population with a very low level of variability. Conversely, Biolog phenotypic fingerprinting and phytohormone production analyses showed a considerable metabolic diversity, as bacteria obtained from single infected tissue differed more than bacteria obtained from different orchards. When pathogenicity tests were carried out on myrtle plants, different types of symptoms were induced: knots, canker lesions with or without tissue proliferations and, occasionally, wilting of the inoculated twig, a symptom never reported before for P. savastanoi. Comparable symptoms were also observed in the natural environment both on spontaneous and cultivated plants. Moreover, the host range of the myrtle population was heterogeneous and not well defined. Some isolates showed a wide host range whilst others were pathogenic only to their natural host. Overall these findings suggest that the diversity of the P. savastanoi population from myrtle does not depend so much on the locality or the natural host and does not allow the Sardinian and Greek isolates, together with previously characterized myrtle strains, to be ascribed to a known pathovar of P. savastanoi, nor to propose their belonging, as a whole, to a new pathovar.     

Assessment of cable tensile forces in active winch-assist harvesting using an anchor machine configuration

European Journal of Forest Research - The growing interest in accessing steep terrain is pushing the expansion of the operating range of ground-based machines through winch-assist technology....     

Spectroscopic characterization of mineralogy and its diversity across Vesta

The mineralogy of Vesta, based on data obtained by the Dawn spacecraft's visible and infrared spectrometer, is consistent with howardite-eucrite-diogenite meteorites. There are considerable regional and local variations across the asteroid: Spectrally distinct regions include the south-polar Rheasilvia basin, which displays a higher diogenitic component, and equatorial regions, which show a higher eucritic component. The lithologic distribution indicates a deeper diogenitic crust, exposed after excavation by the impact that formed Rheasilvia, and an upper eucritic crust. Evidence for mineralogical stratigraphic layering is observed on crater walls and in ejecta. This is broadly consistent with magma-ocean models, but spectral variability highlights local variations, which suggests that the crust can be a complex assemblage of eucritic basalts and pyroxene cumulates. Overall, Vesta mineralogy indicates a complex magmatic evolution that led to a differentiated crust and mantle.     

The geologically recent giant impact basins at Vesta's south pole

Dawn's global mapping of Vesta reveals that its observed south polar depression is composed of two overlapping giant impact features. These large basins provide exceptional windows into impact processes at planetary scales. The youngest, Rheasilvia, is 500 kilometers wide and 19 kilometers deep and finds its nearest morphologic analog among large basins on low-gravity icy satellites. Extensive ejecta deposits occur, but impact melt volume is low, exposing an unusual spiral fracture pattern that is likely related to faulting during uplift and convergence of the basin floor. Rheasilvia obliterated half of another 400-kilometer-wide impact basin, Veneneia. Both basins are unexpectedly young, roughly 1 to 2 billion years, and their formation substantially reset Vestan geology and excavated sufficient volumes of older compositionally heterogeneous crustal material to have created the Vestoids and howardite-eucrite-diogenite meteorites.     

Genetic analysis of beef fatty acid composition predicted by near-infrared spectroscopy

The aims of this study were 1) to investigate the potential application of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to predict intramuscular fat (IMF) and fatty acid (FA) composition of individual meat samples, 2) to estimate heritability of IMF and FA NIRS-based predictions, and 3) to assess the statistical relevance of the genetic background of such predictions by using the Bayes factor (BF) procedure. Young Piemontese bulls (n = 1,298) were raised and fattened on 124 farms, and slaughtered at the same commercial abattoir. Intramuscular fat content and FA composition were analyzed on a random subset of 148 samples of minced and homogenized longissimus thoracis muscle. Near-infrared spectroscopy spectra were collected on all samples (n = 1,298) in reflectance mode between 1,100 and 2,498 nm (every 2 nm) using fresh minced meat samples. Calibration models developed from the random subset of 148 samples were used to predict IMF and FA contents of the remaining 1,150 samples. Intramuscular fat content and FA predictions were analyzed under a Bayesian univariate animal linear models, and the statistical relevance of heritability estimates was assessed through BF; the model with polygenic additive effects was favored when BF > 1. In general, satisfactory results (R(2) > 0.60) were obtained for 6 out of the 8 major FA (C14:0, C:16:0, C16:1, C18:0, C18:1n-9 cis/trans, and C18:1n-11 trans), 6 out of the 19 minor FA (C10:0, C12:0, C17:0, C17:1, C18:2 cis-9,trans-11, and C20:2), and the total SFA, MUFA, and PUFA. Bayes factors between models with and without a genetic component provided values greater than 1 for IMF, C14:0, C16:0, C18:1n-9 cis/trans, C17:0, C17:1, C20:2, SFA, MUFA, and PUFA. The greatest BF was reached by C20:2 (BF >10), suggesting strong evidence of genetic determinism, whereas IMF, C18:1n-9 cis/trans, C17:0, C17:1, MUFA, and PUFA showed substantial evidence favoring the numerator model (3.16 < BF < 10). Point estimates of heritabilities for FA predicted by NIRS were low to moderate (0.07 to 0.21). Results support that NIRS is a useful technique to satisfactorily predict some FA of meat. The existence of an important genetic determinism affecting FA profile has been confirmed, suggesting that FA composition of meat can be genetically modified.     

Linkage disequilibrium and effective population size in Gir cattle selected for yearling weight

Linkage disequilibrium (LD) plays an important role in genomic selection and mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL). This study investigated the pattern of LD and effective population size (N_e) in Gir cattle selected for yearling weight. For this purpose, 173 animals with imputed genotypes (from 18 animals genotyped with the Illumina BovineHD BeadChip and 155 animals genotyped with the Bovine LDv4 panel) were analysed. The LD was evaluated at distances of 25–50 kb, 50–100 kb, 100–500 kb and 0.5–1 Mb. The N_e was estimated based on 5 past generations. The r² values (a measure of LD) were, respectively, .35, .29, .18 and .032 for the distances evaluated. The LD estimates decreased with increasing distance of SNP pairs and LD persisted up to a distance of 100 kb (r² = .29). The N_e was greater in generations 4 and 5 (24 and 30 animals, respectively) and declined drastically after the last generation (12 animals). The results showed high levels of LD and low N_e, which were probably due to the loss of genetic variability as a consequence of the structure of the Gir population studied.     

New invasion of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bemisia tabaci</Emphasis> Mediterranean species in Brazil associated to ornamental plants

In Brazil, the first major invasion event of Bemisia tabaci was that of Middle East–Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) species, formerly termed as B biotype, which commenced in the 1990s mainly by ornamental plants in São Paulo State. More than two decades after this invasion, the presence of the Mediterranean (MED) species of B. tabaci, formerly Q biotype, was reported in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost State of Brazil, and now in São Paulo and Paraná States, in southeastern Brazil. Specimens of whiteflies collected from commercial begonia, hydrangea, petunia and poinsettia greenhouses in São Paulo, and also from begonias and poinsettias collected in flower shops in Paraná, were all identified as belonging to MED species. Furthermore, the secondary endosymbionts Arsenophonus, Hamiltonella and Rickettsia of MED from São Paulo and Paraná were detected by PCR and their presence confirmed by sequencing and FISH analysis, and those results differed from MED detected in Rio Grande do Sul that harbored only Hamiltonella and Cardinium. Our results suggest a new MED invasion into Brazil and is associated with ornamental plants. The two MED populations are genetically different and suggest that they are separate invasions.     

Carcase characteristics and qualitative meat traits of three Italian local chicken breeds

1. An experiment involving 60 male chickens reared in an organic production system was carried out in order to investigate carcase characteristics and qualitative meat traits of three slow-growing Italian local breeds of chicken (Ermellinata, Padovana and Pepoi). 2. Chicks were randomly selected at hatch, raised together under the same conditions, slaughtered at 190 d of age, dissected for carcase traits, and meat (breast and thigh) stored for subsequent analysis of quality parameters. 3. Ermellinata (EA) chickens were significantly different from Padovana (PA) and Pepoi (PI) chickens for live, carcase and thigh weights. Breeds were also different for breast muscle protein content (EA > PI and PA), shear force (PA < EA and PI) and cooking loss (PI > PA and EA) values. 4. The CIE system values of lightness (L*), redness (a*), and yellowness (b*) evidenced a distinctive darker meat and lighter skin colour of PA breast meat. 5. Polyunsaturated fatty acids composition of breast meat was similar among the analysed breeds. EA had significantly higher saturated but significantly lower monounsaturated fatty acid contents than the other two breeds.     

Chitosan induces delayed grapevine defense mechanisms and protects grapevine against Botrytis cinerea

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - In the present study, a commercial chitosan soluble in acid solution and obtained from shrimp shell waste, with a molecular weight of 173&nbsp;kDa and...